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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Hawaii did the right
thing this timeNO, the news that Hawaii will suspend five players and reprimand seven others for their role in the shameful fracas that occurred in the aftermath of the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl will not make everyone simply move on and forget the fight ever happened.
But it might make them remember that UH did the right thing here.
(As it should have. This was its second chance in this situation. As I was grumbling-slash-laughing about Houston's audacity in preemptively claiming innocence a colleague pointed out that, hey, this is their first time with something like this. That's true. UH has had much more bench-clearing-brawl experience.)
It was important that this punishment came down from UH, and that June Jones made a supportive statement. Because Hawaii is now on record, officially (as it most definitely was not the first time this happened), that this kind of thing is wrong. That it will not be tolerated. That it cannot happen again.
No matter who started it.
That is the right thing to do, and it should be noted. Maybe even applauded.
But you shouldn't get patted on the back too hard for doing the right thing. You should just do it. There shouldn't be a question. The state of Hawaii has a right to expect that from its university and its team.
UH should have done this the first time. Maybe it wouldn't have happened a second.
But this time, at least, at last, Hawaii did the right thing.
Said UH athletic director Herman Frazier, in yesterday's paper, "This is all about accountability, and this is all a part of education. This is college, and sometimes you have to be held accountable for what you do and it's part of a learning experience."
Exactly. And that doesn't just stand for the players. Or at least it shouldn't. The players are every bit responsible for their actions. But they are not the only ones.
It is the right thing that Hawaii -- and Jones -- have assumed that responsibility as well.
After the first fight, against Cincinnati, UC officials responded with a litany of accusations that included as much fiction as fact. But Cincinnati also said that Hawaii's atmosphere and attitude led to the melee. Now that it's happened twice, we see there was at least a grain of truth in all that sandbagging. UH has to accept that, and do something about it.
To steal Frazier's line, UH has to be held accountable for what it does, and it needs to learn from this experience.
And in conclusion, it should be noted that many UH football players did the right thing from the beginning. Let's not forget that. There were peacemakers, in that bunch. There were guys wearing Hawaii uniforms who were holding others back, breaking it up, behaving with class. Who were saddened, and embarrassed, who thought it was stupid. Who were more angered by the fact their teammates would act like that than by anything any opponent could do.
No, the UH football team is not a bunch of punks. But it has looked like it, and twice now. It can't happen again.
Hopefully, this is the first step.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com